Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1887-06-28
icepyrshi. ~. By Aiscoi a fo'ts'.l
THE GOOD OLD TIMES OF A
CENTURY AGO.
BY Jrpor c. T. wnIrS~.
CAarsp Nj,
rilE RETURN To chNr.

AMA htA IT ~ So
Some Of the euriou, ones Of the party,
the nsx, morning. made raft, and went
to the island. where the solitary figure
had been seen the evening before. There
vas a wsll.wom path TO 10 waters
edge. bu, no other indication ,hs, the
100, Of man bad ever irod upon the soil.
vexed ~ fading no evidences ol
occupancy. and ~ their failure TO learn
anything further concerning this mys,e'
nous being. they lighted fire in the
dead leave. and underbiu,h, aud the Is
land va, sooa Wrapped 10 Games.
"Hc wuh, stan thar "a mite. fur thur
groun' will be likely iu be ,u ho, far his
ioes. | r,ekoa." said the prims mover IN
setting the island on tire. And sure
enough. when night came. nothing va.
,een. Amons the smoking stamps and
trees. Of the lone fisherman Of the Pen.
nesseewHsec.
The hunters ,psa, the day in looking
over Ise'. tract. and they returned TO
their temporary camp AZ nish,-fall eon'
vine,d Of the fact. ,ha, from It's 'i,ua,ioa.
though /, contained some sAeellen, land.
/, would no, be settled I'LL after other
tract. around /, had been taken up.
The neI, morning they started back
20 their camp on the other side Of the
moan,Ains Arriving ~ the place where
the moO.c had been KILLED. they iound ihs,
a rowing Indian had taken up bis quarters
near the carcass aud was cooking bic
breakfast over fro beside rock. lie
appeared peseeably disposed. and they
passed on And lsf, him.
The sun had risen 10 the meridian
when they reached the summit Of old
Susaksd. Again they "a, down TO res,
aud admire the grand scenery spread out
before them.
"Hsre i. the dividing line" remarked
samuel. "who zoe. cas-, aud Who goes
elsewhere to settle, /, for one. 10 east.
where We have found game 20 plenty.
"Tkei's me. sam. every time. ye kin
depend on ,hei. said Swipes.
I'll think will settle in Sylvester,
Canada. where there is les, Of the vii.
dernss.. and more Of civilization. re.
,pondsd Capt. Jones.
There is no place like ShePPlrd''
field. pa, In BeArce.
IL like the land on the lower end Of
the Pennesseewsssee Lake, bu, sup.
pose shall decide TO settle where slmu.
sl thinks best" said Jacob.
IL wish you would all settle on Lees
tract. think We could DO something
handsome by you. but | suppose your
minds are made up agains, is prAe,ieA-
biliiy." remarked the Vrginian. "Le,
us hasten" he continued. "for ,o.mor.
row wan, 10 star, for home"
The tramp down the mountain was
easier than when ascending IL, and camp
was reached wi,hou, incident
Tha, evening |, was decided ,hl, the
party would break up,-Csp,. Jones,
Morris and Graham, going home, while
the Taylor and Swipes were 10 stay, TO
.slee, their lots and begin their eleArlng..
The fruits Of their hunt were divided.
and while half OF the party started for
the settlement. the Others went to look
after their traps. Across the stream. at the
lower end Of meadow, through which
Bog Brook ran. was an old beaver dam,
thA, held back its waters. forming quite
pond. A steep bank led up from the
water in which were holes where the
otter were running in and out, apparent
ly At play. Others were sliding down
the bank head foremost, and plungins
into the pond. The more the slide was
used the mole slippery It became. For
a long time. the hunters watched them
a, their play.
81 have read Of the habits Of the
otter in books. but always thought
,ha, the picture Of their playing like
school children a, sliding down hill, Wa,
oyerdrawn. ba, it seems /, was not" said
Samuel.
Swipes fred his gun into their mids,
and presently every one Of them Vas out
Of sight. They made a noise somsthins
like the grun, Of a hOg, upon being dis.
turbed.
The traps were overhauled aud reset.
and after sunse, the hunters lay in wai,
for the beavers, who came out Of their
holes as darkness approached, to repair
their dams and make their houses for the
winter. The days hun, ended in shoot.
ing three Of these valuable animals.
A few days after they went to Abii,h
Bucks on the Nszinsco,, 10 obtain ia-
formation relating to the ownsrship OF
the land bordering on ShspPard's GRAFT.
and be informed them ,ha, the Common.
wealth Of Massachusetts, still held nearly
all the lands opsnsd for settlement 10
No. So and particularly the lots they
sought; and that he was organizing .
society to purchase all the lands OF the
State within the township.
He assured them that there Was no
risk In selecting their lots aud beginning
their elesring.. and they went back and
commenced the telling Of trees. The
Tsylors selected . two hundred acre lo.,
on the southern line Of the township.
and Swipes took forty acre lot to the
north.eas, Of theirs, across the valley
upon another ridge Of land. abou: mile
of.
For several weeks they were busy